Demographics of Laos


This article is about the demographic features of the population of Laos, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Laos' population was estimated at about million in, dispersed unevenly across the country. Most people live in valleys of the Mekong River and its tributaries. Vientiane Prefecture, which includes Vientiane, the capital and largest city of the country, had about 569,000 residents in 1999. The country's population density is 23.4/km2.
In March 2005, the total population was 5.62 million in the 2005 census, an increase of 1.047 million since the previous 1995 census.

Overview

The demographic makeup of the population is uncertain as the government divides the people into three groups according to the altitude at which they live, rather than according to ethnic origin. The lowland Lao account for 68%, upland Lao for 22%, and the highland Lao for 9%.
Ethnic Lao, the principal lowland inhabitants and politically and culturally dominant group, make up the bulk of the Lao Loum and around 60% of the total population. The Lao are a branch of the Tai people who began migrating southward from China in the first millennium A.D. In the north, there are mountain tribes of Miao–Yao, Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman Hmong, Yao, Akha, and Lahu who migrated into the region in the 19th century. Collectively, they are known as Lao Sung or highland Lao.
In the central and southern mountains, Mon–Khmer tribes known as Lao Theung or upland Lao, predominate. Some Chinese minorities remain, particularly in the towns, but many Laotian Chinese were forced to leave during 1975-80 when Laos followed the anti-Chinese policy of Vietnam.
The predominant religion is Theravada Buddhism. Animism is common among the mountain tribes. Buddhism and spirit worship coexist easily. There is a small number of Christians and Muslims.
The official and dominant language is Lao, a tonal language of the Tai linguistic group. Midslope and highland Lao speak tribal languages. French, once common in government and commerce, has declined in use, while knowledge of English — the language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — has increased in recent years.
With a median age of 19.3, Laos has the youngest population of Asia.

Population

According to, the population of Laos increased from 1.7 million in 1950 to million in. Until the year 2000 the proportion of children 0–14 years of age was over 40% of the total population. Due to decreasing fertility rates this proportion decreased to 34.5% in 2010. The proportion of elderly people is still very low, although the proportion doubled between 1950 and 2010.
Total populationPopulation aged 0–14
Population aged 15–64
Population aged 65+
19501,68340.457.42.1
19551,89741.456.22.4
19602,13042.155.32.6
19652,39142.254.92.9
19702 69141.955.03.1
19753,04242.154.73.2
19803,23543.952.53.5
19853,64844.052.43.6
19904,19243.752.73.6
19954,79543.652.83.6
20005,31742.354.03.7
20055,75339.157.13.8
20106,20134.561.63.9

Structure of the population

Structure of the population :
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total2 800 5512 821 4315 621 982100
0-4351 559349 356700 91512,47
5-9379 137370 071749 20813,33
10-14391 785375 371767 15613,65
15-19323 729323 540647 26911,51
20-24253 926261 371515 2979,17
25-29211 279218 330429 6097,64
30-34176 515183 480359 9956,40
35-39164 415165 362329 7775,87
40-44132 335133 532265 8674,73
45-49113 869113 298227 1674,04
50-5486 77091 210177 9803,17
55-5962 69165 640128 3312,28
60-6450 00655 008105 0141,87
65-6938 28941 25179 5401,41
70-7427 65231 92759 5791,06
75-7917 96419 20837 1720,66
80-8410 40212 18022 5820,40
85-894 6315 69710 3280,18
90-941 9642 7814 7450,08
95-999821 3932 3750,04
100+4809361 4160,03
unknown1714896600,01

Structure of the population :
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total3 254 7703 237 4586 492 228100
0-4346 462335 521681 98310.50
5-9345 380333 829679 20910.46
10-14363 026355 580718 60611.07
15-19354 360344 650699 01010.77
20-24325 601328 436654 03710.07
25-29308 988307 000615 9889.49
30-34250 383245 851496 2347.64
35-39212 523207 560420 0836.47
40-44170 808173 062343 8705.30
45-49149 656146 251295 9074.56
50-54127 272140 146267 4184.12
55-5998 61598 992197 6073.04
60-6474 10673 073147 1792.27
65-6947 56351 33898 9011.52
70-7432 93038 49771 4271.10
75-7921 87125 20747 0780.73
80-8413 51916 67130 1900.47
85-896 7448 52315 2670.24
90-943 0413 9957 0360.11
95+1 9223 2765 1980.08

Vital statistics

UN estimates http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm [Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision]

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :
YearCBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
2011-2012253.2202.2263.6
2017222.7182.1233.0

Total fertility rate and other related statistics by province, as of 2011-2012:
ProvinceTotal fertility ratePercentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnantMean number of children ever born to women age 40-49Adolescent birth rate
Vientiane Capital2.03.83.137
Phongsaly3.75.25.0145
Luang Namtha2.64.74.0124
Oudomxay3.63.95.7138
Bokeo3.64.95.0149
Luang Prabang3.15.45.395
Huaphan3.85.95.9137
Xayabury2.23.83.883
Xieng Khuang3.64.56.1101
Vientiane Province2.75.04.186
Borikhamxay2.83.94.479
Khammouane3.74.54.9108
Savannakhet3.56.35.499
Saravane4.37.56.0106
Sekong4.56.95.9107
Champasak3.65.74.770
Attapeu3.66.85.7107

Life expectancy

Source: UN World Population Prospects

Ethnic groups

Specialists are largely in agreement as to the ethnolinguistic classification of the ethnic groups of Laos. For the purposes of the 1995 census, the government of Laos recognized 149 ethnic groups within 47 main ethnicities. whereas the Lao Front for National Construction recently revised the list to include 49 ethnicities consisting of over 160 ethnic groups.
The term ethnic minorities is used by some to classify the non-Lao ethnic groups, while the term indigenous peoples is not used by the Lao PDR. These 160 ethnic groups speak a total of 82 distinct living languages.
Lao 53.2%, Khmu 11%, Hmong 9.2%, and other 26.6%.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.1 male/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male/female
total population: 0.98 male/female
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.39 years
male: 60.50 years
female: 64.36 years
Nationality:
noun: Lao or Laotian
adjective: Lao or Laotian
Religions:
Buddhist 67%, Christian 1.5%, other and unspecified 31.5%
Languages:
Lao, French, English, Vietnamese, and various ethnic languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 73%
male: 83%
female: 63%